The anatomy of a Rebels road losing streak

By Rob Miech

Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

Once again, UNLV can be thankful for Duke.

The school that the Rebels belted by 30 points for the 1990 NCAA basketball championship owns college football’s longest road losing streak against conference opponents.

Duke has lost 20 consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference games away from Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, N.C.

(Good thing the Blue Devils won at North Carolina, too, on Nov. 22, 2003. Before that game, Duke had lost 17 in a row on the road in the ACC.)

The Rebels own a 19-game losing streak in Mountain West Conference games away from Sam Boyd Stadium heading into today’s action in Laramie, Wyo.

Only 1,815 days have passed since UNLV last had success on the highway, when it defeated BYU in Provo, Utah, on Oct. 8, 2004.

It’s a mark of futility that keeps UNLV in a notorious fraternity as only three other major programs in the country have a double-digit losing skid on the road against conference foes.

Iowa State (13) and Baylor (11) join Duke and UNLV in the quartet of ineptitude.

SMU and Idaho escaped that pigskin purgatory this season. The Mustangs had lost 11 in a row on the road in Conference USA before winning at Alabama-Birmingham two weeks ago.

The Vandals, who had dropped 10 consecutive Western Athletic Conference road games, won their season opener at New Mexico State.

To the wise guys and gals of Las Vegas, the Rebels are 3-14-2 against the spread during their recent Mountain West road-trip woes.

How did UNLV let this happen?

Sixteen of those foes had more total yardage than the Rebels. In 12, UNLV had more turnovers. In 10, the Rebels had more penalties whistled on them. UNLV has lost those 19 games by an average score of 37-15.

Lately, they’ve come down to the final minutes, if not seconds.

Let’s take a closer look at the pattern and nuances of one of the country’s bleakest losing streaks:

1 – at Utah (63-28), Oct. 23, 2004

Fifteen days after beating BYU, 24-20, in Provo, Utah, UNLV was creamed by the Utes to begin the current ignominious stretch.

2 – at Colorado State (45-10), Nov. 13, 2004

A 26-yard fumble return for a score provided the exclamation points of the Rams’ 24-0 rout of the Rebels in the first quarter.

3 – at San Diego State (21-3), Nov. 20, 2004

The six-year John Robinson era ended, at 28-42, with a whimper. It capped a 2-9 campaign and was one of two games of the season in which UNLV failed to score a TD.

4 – at New Mexico (24-22), Sept. 5, 2005

Mike Sanford’s first MWC road game as UNLV’s head coach was also his debut as the Rebels’ boss. UNLV scored with 91 seconds left and recovered an on-side kick, but the rally ended when QB Shane Steichen’s pass was intercepted on the next play.

5 – at Wyoming (42-17), Oct. 1, 2005

The Cowboys scored 35 of the first 38 points to bury the Rebels. Turnovers and penalties plagued Jarrod Jackson, in his first UNLV start at quarterback, for three quarters. Then it was too late.

6 – at Air Force (42-7), Oct. 15, 2005

Quarterback Shaun Carney didn’t run for triple figures in yardage. Still, he was quite effective on land by rambling for four touchdowns. The longest was 11 yards. The Falcons had a 316-2 edge in rushing yardage.

7 – at TCU (51-3), Nov. 12, 2005

This one was over before it started. Before the Rebels snapped the ball once on offense, the 18th-ranked Horned Frogs were up 10-0. TCU had a 587-157 edge in total yardage.

8 – at Colorado State (28-7), Oct. 7, 2006

With a 14-7 deficit, UNLV misfired on a fourth-and-1. On the next play, Rams QB Caleb Hanie hit Damon Morton with a 64-yard TD strike to double CSU’s lead near the end of the third quarter.

9 – at BYU (52-7), Oct. 21, 2006

Three Rebels suffered broken bones and linebacker Beau Bell missed most of the game with a sprained ankle in the costly thrashing. UNLV turned it over six times.

10 – at Utah (45-23), Oct. 28, 2006

After a scoreless first quarter, which included a goal-line stand by UNLV, the Utes bombarded the Rebels with a 24-3 second quarter to fuel the victory.

11 – at San Diego State (21-7), Nov. 11, 2006

Junior kicker Sergio Aguayo missed five field goals in the first three quarters. He hadn’t missed that many in either of his first two seasons. For the fifth time in eight games, a UNLV opponent returned an interception for a TD.

12 – at Air Force (31-14), Oct. 6, 2007

Chad Hall ran for a 52-yard touchdown and Carney had a 71-yarder to give the Falcons the lead for good in the third quarter. In this one, UNLV owned the stat edges.

13 – at Wyoming (29-24), Oct. 27, 2007

Wade Betschart caught a 3-yard TD pass from Karsten Sween with less than six minutes left, and the Cowboys collected eight sacks.

14 – at TCU (34-10), Nov. 17, 2007

The Horned Frogs scored the first 28 points and outgained the Rebels on the ground, 251 yards to 12.

15 – at New Mexico (27-6), Nov. 24, 2007

Marcus Smith’s 63-yard TD pass from quarterback Donovan Porterie gave the Lobos the lead for good early in the second quarter.

16 – at Utah (42-21), Sept. 6, 2008

Four unanswered touchdowns in the first 16 1/2 minutes of the second half slammed the Rebels. There were two 32-yard touchdown passes, including one from the Utes’ tailback. Utah is 7-0 vs. UNLV in Salt Lake City.

17 – at Colorado State (41-28), Oct. 4, 2008

A 10-yard TD run with nine ticks left and then a 7-yard fumble return for a score as time expired stunned UNLV.

18 – at BYU (42-35), Oct. 25, 2008

For a third week in a row, the Rebels were zapped at the end of a game when Dennis Pitta nabbed a 6-yard TD pass from QB Max Hall with less than two minutes remaining. Hall converted a 2-point pass to Harvey Unga for the final margin.

19 – at San Diego State (42-21), Nov. 22, 2008

With less than five minutes left, the Aztecs doubled their lead with a 7-yard touchdown run by Tyler Campbell and ensured that UNLV’s streak would hit 19 on an 82-yard interception return for a TD by Corey Boudreaux.